Rekindling the Flame
by hiean
Summary: No magic. Piper and Leo are divorced but they have an 18 month old son. But Piper kept a very important secret from Leo. 4 yrs later, will they be able to rekindle their old flame? And wait, who is this new neighbor who clumsily mess everything up?


**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Charmed or any of its characters.

**AN:** Hey guys, I'm starting a new fic but I'm not abandoning my other ones. I just don't want to lose this plot from my head.

**Summary:** Piper and Leo are divorced but they have an 18 month old son Wyatt. But what Leo didn't know was that Piper kept a very important secret from him. 4 years later, they will meet again. With new suitors and new proposals, will they be able to rekindle their old flame? And wait, who is this new neighbor who clumsily mess everything up? Is it on purpose? This is an AU and will have no MAGIC.

**New neighbor**

"Hey, do you know who bought the Gordon's place?" Paige asked as she walked in to the kitchen.

"You're a bit early today. Pull up a chair and join us for breakfast." Piper nodded to an empty seat besides Wyatt.

"Hiya auntie Paige." Wyatt greeted her.

"Hey Wy. You ready for school?" She returned the greeting as she ruffled his cute blonde hair. She laughed as she heard protests from the little boy.

"I didn't know that someone already bought that place." Piper answered her earlier question thinking about the house from across the street.

"Well, I saw a boy there a while ago, never seen him before maybe around 16. I first thought he was going to vandalize the place but he told me they just moved there yesterday."

"Are you sure about that? I never saw a moving truck there."

"He said most of their things are still to follow and his mom will be taking care of it. He was very polite and he looked a lot like Chris." She surveyed the room looking for the said boy.

"Just to be on the safe side, I'm gonna call Dan and ask him about it."

"Where's Chris anyway?"

Piper sighed. "He's with Phoebe. He was whining so much yesterday about Wyatt going to school today."

Paige thought about what Chris did last year when Wyatt went to kindergarten and he couldn't go. The kid kept on screaming and she knew there and then that the kid has one heck of a pair of powerful lungs. She shuddered at the thought. "But isn't Chris starting daycare this year?"

"Yeah but his will start next week. It's a good thing that Maia is the same age as him and they will be able to go to the same daycare." Piper replied thinking of Phoebe's little girl. "Phoebe promised to take care of him this whole week so I can concentrate on looking for a job."

Paige gave her a sympathetic look. "Is it that bad?"

Piper sighed once more remembering what happened on her last job when she got fired for taking Wyatt and Chris to work. "Yeah, the bills are piling up. And Prue might just waltz in anytime and take charge of everything if she finds out."

Paige gave her an encouraging smile, she knew Piper didn't mean it in a bad way, but she knew that Prue was very protective of her little sisters since she helped her gramps raise them when their mother died. "Don't worry about it. My lips are sealed. She won't hear it from me." She raised her hand over her lips and made a zipping gesture.

Piper smiled at their youngest sister's antics. "Thanks Paige. It's not you I'm worried about. It's 'Miss I can't keep a secret to save my own life.'"

"Yeah you're right about that." Paige laughed hysterically at that while Wyatt confusedly looked at her. "Don't worry kiddo. I'll stop soon." When she was able to stop, she asked, "So do you need a babysitter for Wyatt as well?"

Piper gave her a look complete with puppy dog's eyes. "Could you?"

"Sure thing. I don't think we have a lot of things to do for today yet since it's just the first day. I can keep him with me after his class ends." Paige was a 5th grade teacher at Wyatt's elementary school.

"But I wanted to play with Chris after school today." the little boy whined.

Piper gave her son a reassuring smile and said, "Chris will be back this Saturday and you can play with him then. Ok sweetie?"

"Ok mommy. I can wait."

"Good boy." Paige ruffled once more the little boy's golden hair. Wyatt was not known to throw a tantrum whatever the circumstances. Chris however was a different matter. "Auntie Paige!" he protested as he glared at her. Paige laughed as she held her hands up in mock surrender promising the boy that she won't do it in school.

"Are you already finished, honey? Do you want more?" Piper asked pointing to his empty plate. "I'm full mommy." The little boy answered. "I'm done too sis. We're gonna go." Paige said to her sister as she ushered the boy to get his things.

Piper waved goodbye at them as Paige was backing out of her driveway. "Drive safely."

"Good luck!" shouted Paige.

Piper gazed at the Gordon's place as her sister's car pulled away from view. She saw the same boy Paige mentioned. She didn't know why but she felt something strange for the boy. She dismissed it noticing what Paige meant with what she said as she examined him, 'It must be because he looked a lot like Chris.'

"Hey." She waved her hand and went over as she saw him watering the lawn.

"I'm Piper, Piper Halliwell." She held her hand for him to shake. The boy stopped the hose as he took it answering, "I'm Keith Masters."

"So where's your parents Keith?" Piper noticed that the boy's face became sullen but only for a brief moment and Piper shooed the thought away as just her imagination going wild.

He smiled as he answered, "My mom's gone back to San Diego to finish up some paperwork for her branch transfer and she's also taking care of moving our stuffs. She might not be back till this weekend."

"Oh I see. And you're dad?" She inquired.

He shrugged as he answered, "He's not much of a factor, they're divorced anyway."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She didn't want to press the issue any longer.

"That's ok. It was a long time ago even before I was born."

Silence followed as Piper was thinking, 'He is a lot like Chris.'

"Why don't you have dinner with us?" Piper felt strangely about the words which came out of her mouth. She had never invited anyone she had just met to her house before. She never did anything out of impulse and here she was inviting a complete stranger. 'Maybe it's because he's just a kid.' She tried to justify her actions.

"I don't want to intrude on you since we just met." The boy politely refused.

"No, it's ok." Piper shook her head. "You will be able to meet my sister and one of my sons as well."

"Will it be a problem with your mom?" Piper inquired, trying to verify the reason for his hesitation.

The boy vigorously shook his head, "I'm sure it's ok with her. She did tell me to mingle with the neighbors and get to know some neighborhood kids my age."

"That's good to hear. Although, I'm afraid my son's not your age, he's 5 and a half and his little brother's almost 4."

The boy blushed, "I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean to make it sound that you might already have a son my age."

Piper smiled, "Don't worry about it. Did you already have breakfast?"

"Yeah, I ate with my mom before she left."

"That would have been too early."

"Yup."

"I need to go but I'll be expecting you for dinner."

"Sure thing Mrs Halliwell." Keith found it hard to say her name and Piper couldn't help but feel that her title sounded weird coming from the boy.

As she was by her door, she turned around and saw that the boy was nowhere in sight, 'He must have gone inside.' She went it and closed the door behind her hopeful that the new day will be fruitful in her search.

**AN:** That's it for this chappie. Have you guessed what the secret was Piper kept from Leo? Please R and R.


End file.
